1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fastener inserter and more particularly to a pneumatically powered fastener inserter which includes a feed hopper adapted to contain a plurality of fasteners. The feed hopper supplies fasteners to the inserter which inserts individual fasteners into the material or object being secured.
2. Description of the Related Art
T-shaped fasteners normally comprise an elongated shank having a pointed portion at one end thereof and an enlarged head portion at the other end thereof. In most cases, the fastener is provided with a retention means on the shank which resists the fastener being pulled from the material or object being secured. One type of such fastener is commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cChristmas treexe2x80x9d fastener and it includes a plurality of spaced-apart retention members in the form of ribs extending outwardly from the shank thereof. During insertion, the ribs on the shank normally deflect inwardly towards the shank, but the ribs prevent the fastener from being pulled from the material or object once the fastener has been inserted. In many cases, the ribs are swept back to facilitate the insertion thereof.
In the past, it is believed that the most common method of installing the fasteners in the material being secured was to initially manually force the fastener into position and then use some type of pneumatic hammer or the like to drive the fastener into place. The requirement that the fastener be initially manually placed into position is obviously time-consuming and increases the time necessary to insert the fastener.
A pneumatic fastener inserter for inserting fasteners, of the type having a shank and an enlarged head, into the material being secured comprising a hopper rotatably mounted on a support in an inclined position with respect to horizontal. The hopper includes an inclined, stationary, closed lower end with the closed lower end including a base plate and an upwardly extending flange at the periphery thereof. A first discharge slot is formed in the flange and a second discharge slot is formed in the base plate which are adapted to permit the discharge of fasteners from the hopper. The hopper also includes a rotatable drive shaft which rotatably extends upwardly and outwardly through the inclined base plate with first and second bar supports being secured to the drive shaft for rotation therewith. A plurality of flat bars are mounted on the first and second bar supports with the bars being spaced-apart from one another to define a gap between adjacent bars. The lower ends of the bars are partially received by the flange which extends from the base plate. The fasteners are placed in the interior of the hopper in a random bulk fashion with the hopper being rotated by a motor or the like as required. As the hopper rotates, some of the fasteners in the hopper position themselves so that the shanks thereof extend outwardly from the hopper between the bars. Eventually, the fasteners move, by gravity, to the lower ends of the bars upon which they are supported. When a protruding fastener is rotated into alignment with the first discharge slot in the base plate and the second discharge slot in the flange, the aligned fastener falls from the interior of the hopper into a pair of horizontally spaced and vertically disposed magazine members so that the fasteners are stacked one upon the other therein. The hopper is only rotated when the uppermost fastener in the magazine members has been lowered to a predetermined position. The hopper is then rotated to supply additional fasteners to the magazine members with the rotation of the hopper being discontinued when the stacked fasteners in the magazine members have reached a predetermined level. The lower ends of the magazine members are in communication with a conventional entrapment apparatus which supplies one fastener at a time, upon demand, to an elongated flexible tube or hose which extends to the pneumatic inserter. A fastener is delivered to the inserter by way of air pressure and passes downwardly therethrough to a position between first, second and third head fingers which are pivotally mounted in a head adapter selectively secured to the lower end of the inserter. The inserter is manipulated so that the protruding pointed end of the fastener is placed into position with the trigger of the inserter then being activated which causes an air driven piston rod to strike the head of the fastener to drive the fastener downwardly (outwardly) from the pivotal head fingers which pivot outwardly against the resiliency of an O-ring extending therearound. When the fastener has been inserted into the material or object being secured, the cycle may be repeated.
It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide a pneumatic fastener inserter and hopper for the same.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a pneumatic fastener inserter for inserting fasteners into material being secured.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a rotatable fastener hopper which permits fasteners to be placed therein in a bulk and random fashion and which includes means for supplying the individual fasteners to a pneumatic fastener inserter.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic fastener inserter which may be easily modified to accommodate various types and sizes of fasteners.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic fastener inserter which eliminates the need for manually placing the fastener into position prior to it being driven into the material being secured.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic fastener inserter which is convenient to use.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a pneumatic fastener inserter which greatly decreases the amount of time required to insert fasteners into material or objects being secured.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.